Berlin Residential Real Estate Market 2009 Outlook

A survey of 118 cities in Germany has seen the average rent level in Berlin at 5.58 Euro per sqm per month net rent. This takes Berlin to rank No. 55 with Munich in the lead with an average net rent of 11.36 as shown in a study published by the association of the Berlin-Brandenburg housing corporations. Even in small cities like Jena (7.06), Greifswald (6.49) or Lübeck (6.07) the average rent is currently higher than in Berlin. Yet another indicator for the development potential of the Berlin residential market. With the current price level for Investment Property at early last year’s level and growing numbers of pressured sales due to “De-Leveraging” where investors sell properties to generate fresh cash the yields have improved significantly. Recently some big investors in the Berlin market like ORCO Germany have sold properties between 2 – 20 % below their book values. The take-up by the market is relatively slow as most banks require up to 40 % equity to match their lending. “Equity is king” and those who have it can cherry-pick. Any relaxation in this area will depend on the development of the financial crisis and any forecasts on this a currently very vague. In order to make the right decision on property investments reliable pre-acquisition information and investigation is vital.To then ensure a long term successfull outcome, performance targets, measurement concepts and concepts for performance improvement have to be implemented based on the information gathered during the pre-acquisition process. Uwe Falkenberg – source QA